I NEED to make my 17 yr old a quilt before she goes to college. She would like it to be twin size and I would line it to be easy. This would be my first quilt. I google quilts and quilts patterns but they can get complicated and I don't really understand the sizing/fabric amounts.

My advice would be to check out all the quilt shops in your area. When you find one where you like the quilts on display & the fabric in the store talk to them about what you should make. I went to a lovely quilt store years ago, liked the fabric but all of the quilts consisted of very tiny pieces with lots of angles. I did eventually find a nice easy book of nine patch patterns & the staff assisted me in picking out the fabric in the quantities I needed for the unlisted size.

If you decide to use a standard pre-cut, just remember that you need to account for 1/2" seam allowance (1/4" each side).

A jelly roll is 2.5" width of fabric strips
a charm pack is 5" squares
a layer cake is 10" squares
I can't remember what the dessert pack is.
Most of the pre-cuts come in packs of 42, but make SURE you double check!

The simplest thing would be to use layer cakes and just sew them together as is. Since they are the largest pre-cut you will need less of them.

To use a charm pack and just sew the squares together as is you'd need 15x21 rows, so you'd need 8 charm packs.

I can't remember the jelly roll sizes if you just sew them together as is, but lots of people here make jelly roll race quilts, and hopefully someone will let you know how the dimensions!

Suggested Bed-size Quilt Dimensions

These dimensions include a 15" drop on the sides and bottom of the quilt. No extra length is included for a pillow tuck. These sizes are designed for use with a dust ruffle. Quilting, if moderate to heavy, may reduce the finished size of your quilt by 1" to 3" or more and should be considered when planning the finished size of your quilt.

I've only made 3 quilts and I think my advice is to not over think it. I was overwhelmed at first my all the choices and was worried that whatever choice I made would be the wrong one.

I'll echo the log cabin suggestion. The last one I made was a log cabin quilt and I really love it! I made thick strips so I wouldn't have too much sewing and it still turned out great. And I didn't have to worry about buying x amount of fabric. I just bought a bunch of light and dark purple.

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